Coin-holder



w. A. PORTERFIELD.

COIN HOLDER. ,661. Patented Aug. 2, 1887.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM A. PORTERFIELD, OF BELLAIRE, OHIO.

COIN-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 367,661, dated August2, 1887.

Application filed March 7, 1887. Se] in] No. 230,060. (No modeld To allwhom, it may concern: I

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. PORTER- FIELD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Bellaire, in the county of Belmont and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Coin-Holders;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invent-ion, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and letters of reference markedthereon, which form a partof this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a coin-holderconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a centralvertical section of the same.

The invention relates to coin-holders of that class having a graduatedseries of'receptacles; and the novelty consists in the peculiar arrangement, combination, and adaptation of parts, all as more fullyhereinafter described, shown in the drawings, and then specificallydefined in the claims.

Referring to the details of the drawings, A represents a suitable baseor support, which may be made as fanciful in design as desired and ofany suitable material. Near the top of the back B, which rises from saidbase, is secured the ledge 0, preferably inclined toward the front. Thisledge is provided with hopper-shaped holes enlarged somewhat at the topand inclined considerably from the back or higher edge of the ledge.

D D are tubes, preferably seamless, and

formed at their upper ends with an annular flange, d. E E arethumb-screws formed with a shoulder, e, which bears against said flangewhen the screws are inserted into the under side of the ledge, and thusretain the tubes in position. The lower ends of the tubes are cut awayupon diametrically-opposite sides, as is shown in Fig. 1. I sometimesprovide these tubes upon their front side with a vertical slot, 1),through which the coins in thetube may be readily seen, and for theconvenience of readily counting or ascertaining the amount or number ofcoins in each tube I graduate the same along one edge of said slot, asis shown in the dollar tube at the right of Fig. 1.

Beneath each tube I place what I term an anvil, F. This anvil is ofslightly smaller diameter than that of the tube beneath which it isplaced, and it is preferably, though not necessarily, formed of glass.The space between the top of this anvil and the'bottom of the tube isslightly greater than the thickness of the coin.. Each of these anvilscan be secured to the base in any convenient way, but preferably bymeans of a screw, the head of which is firmly secured in said anvil.

Vhile I have shown in the drawings five tubes designed to receive five,ten, twenty-five, and fifty cent pieces and one-dollar pieces, I do notwish to limit myselfto this number or arrangement, as it is evident thatthe number of tubes may be changed or the arrangement may be variedwithout departing from my invention.

In operation the coins are placed in the hopper-shaped openings and fallto the anvilthat is to say, the first coin in any one tube will fallupon the anvil placed beneath the same, and until that coin is removedthe succeeding coins will rest thereon. Then it is desired to remove acoin, the edge of the same is grasped between the thumb and forefingerand pulled out, the next succeeding coin taking its place upon theanvil.

I have a twofold purpose in making the anvil of slightly less diameterthan the tube: first, it will enable me to grasp the coin, and,secondly, I have found from experiment that it aids in causing the coinsto fall flat upon the anvil.

Glass is preferred as an anvil, as it more readily detects an imperfectring of the coin. The inclined ledge, together with the incline andlarge mouth of the hopper, enables me to readily toss the coin into thehopper-receptacles from a distance.

In order to close the space between the top of the anvil and the bottomof the tube, and thus prevent the removal of the coins or the escape ofthe same from tipping the device in moving about, I provide a sleeve, H,which closely fits the tube andis held in its adjusted position byfrictional contact therewith. This sleeve is provided with a milledsurface or ring J, by means of which it is moved.

By my construction I dispense with the slides and operating meanstherefor for drawing out the coins from the tubes when desired, thepeculiar construction and arrangement of the tube and anvil providingfor the easy withdrawal of a coin from the tube by simply grasping thecoin with the thumb and forefinger upon opposite sides of the tubeopposite the cut-away portions thereof. This is an important feature.

Having thus described my invention and set forth its' merits, what Iclaim to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a coin-counter, with a vertical tube cut away atits lower endupon diametrically-opposite sides, of an anvil of lessdiameter than said tube and situated beneath the same with a spacebetween the same, substantially as and for the purpose specified,

